Monday, November 23, 2009

It’s no wonder to us that so many northern Europeans spend their winters in southern Spain. The weather continues to be nearly perfect: highs around 70°F (21°C) and lows in the mid to high 50s. We haven’t turned the heat on yet, but we have worn long sleeves and light jackets in the evenings.

Typical blue sky and palm trees seen from the tunnel under the wall to the city

Something seems to be going on most weekends here. A couple of weeks ago there was an international fair on the promenade by the harbor. (If you’re Facebook friends with John, you will already have seen a picture from that.) The following weekend was a medieval street fair with food, crafts, and entertainment in the neighborhood just inside the wall from us.

Entertainer

Hand-cranked swings for the kids

Brats and sauerkraut for the winter visitors

And every weekend so far the yacht club next door has had races. It’s fun to watch the little ones entering and leaving the harbor.

Regatta

Last week nephew Joel Stocks stopped by and spent a few days with us. It was great to have him visit even though we didn’t do much. We took him with us on our usual store runs and made sure that he got to see the main market here. Mostly we relaxed, and John and Joel stayed up very late most nights talking about food and cooking.

Shirlee and Joel

We have managed to see some of the historic sights although we haven’t visited any museums yet except the one next door. It’s easy to take a detour that leads past some ruin or other. They’re everywhere here, especially close to the harbor.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

After nearly two weeks here in Cartagena, we have settled in. We’ve located and visited the major grocery stores, taking different routes each time we leave the boat, and we’ve done some boats chores. Today we’re going to visit the underwater archeological museum (we’re docked right in front of it), but we’re taking our time visiting the sights. There is a lot of history here and many museums, but we have all winter.

We remain quite happy to be in this beautiful city at this friendly marina. The weather really couldn’t be better. Finally yesterday we put on long pants and long sleeves, but we may be back to shorts tomorrow. Here are some photos. John has done some work on photos pages for Spain but isn’t ready to publish them yet.

Monument to Spanish heroes from the Spanish-American War viewed from the waterfront park